Funk Firm Flamenca

The Funk Firm’s new entry-level turntable, the Flamenca ($1495, without cartridge), will be available next month. The two-speed ‘table uses a DC motor and a very thin (0.15mm) thread-belt to drive its glass platter. Funk refers to their tonearm as a “pickup arm.” A tonearm, explained Pro Audio’s Brian Tucker, implies that the arm imparts its own sonic signature to the system. Funk aims to eliminate the arm from the system, thereby allowing the cartridge to perform optimally. In this case, the Flamenca’s new F6 tonearm is carrying a Dynavector DV 10X5one of my fave cartridges. The F6’s detachable mounting block is meant to simplify cartridge installation. And, while the stock Flamenca is said to be specifically balanced for high-quality performance straight from the box, it can be easily upgraded with Funk’s Achromat platter mat and any of Funk’s higher-end tonearms.

This argument goes back to the 1950s. When I became editor of Stereophile in 1986, I standardized on the term "tonearm" because all pickup arms suffer from mechanical resonances that color the sound to a greater or lesser extent.